The Power of Relationships

After 20 years, Bobby
Ginsberg’s partnership
with the University of
Maryland Marlene and
Stewart Greenebaum
Comprehensive Cancer
continues to evolve

For S. Robert “Bobby” Ginsberg, it’s
always been about relationships.

Over the years, his connections
with people have led to many great
successes. Bobby is a devoted
husband, father, and grandfather; he is
the founder and Chief Executive Officer
of Chesapeake Contracting Group, an
established general contracting
business in the Mid Atlantic; and he is
extremely charitable, especially to the
University of Maryland Marlene and
Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive
Cancer Center.

As an active member of the
UMGCCC Board of Advisors and
chairman of its biennial golf
tournament, Bobby has raised
significant funds and donated much
of his time to the cancer center over
the years. This year’s golf tournament
alone raised more than $550,000.

“Building and maintaining
relationships with people is everything,”
Bobby says. “It is important in every
area of a person’s life — both
personally and professionally. It is
through these relationships that doors
open and new opportunities develop.”

Baltimore Roots

Born and raised in Baltimore, Bobby
had an early interest in construction and got his first professional glimpse
during a summer job in college. He
left shortly thereafter to enlist in the
Air Force Reserve, where he served
six months on active duty in the
medical unit.

Upon his return to Baltimore, the
same owner of the construction
company offered him a position to
work on a larger project. It was there
that he started to learn the business
side of the construction industry.

Two years later, Bobby moved on
again — this time to finish his degree
at the University of Maryland. After
graduation, he began working with a
former work colleague at a startup
construction company.

“At this job, I literally did everything
from digging ditches in the morning
to writing payroll, paying bills, and
estimating the next job in the
afternoon,” Bobby recalls. “My days
were long, but evidently I must have
loved it.”

Six years later in 1979, Bobby founded
Chesapeake Construction Company,
known today as Chesapeake Contracting
Group (CCG). In the company’s first
year, Bobby was the only employee.
While he found success working
on small projects, he wanted the
opportunity to build something bigger.

“I had an approach from the very
beginning that I wasn’t going to fail,”
Bobby says. “I would do whatever it
takes to succeed.”

Through a connection at his former
workplace, Bobby was recommended
as the project manager for the Hunt
Valley Mall project in 1981. It would
be the first of many large-scale
projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic
region, including the demolition and
revitalization of that same mall almost
20 years later.

Today, Chesapeake Contracting
Group employs more than 140 people.

Giving Back to the Community

In the 1990s, as his company continued
to grow, Bobby wanted to give back to
the community and make a difference
in people’s lives.

Bobby reached out to his work
colleague and friend, Stewart
Greenebaum, a local real estate
developer and philanthropist who
would later name UMGCCC. Stewart
scheduled a tour for Bobby of the
University of Maryland Medical Center
(UMMC) led by Dr. Mohan Suntha,
who now is its president and chief
executive officer.

As Bobby walked through UMMC
and its cancer center, he was inspired
by Dr. Suntha and the cutting-edge
research in the lab, the patient-focused
treatment environment, and the
expertise and compassion of the
faculty and staff. He knew right away
he wanted to be involved with the
cancer center and build on its success.

“Everybody is affected by cancer.
You can’t find a family that it hasn’t
touched,” Bobby says. “I’ve had cancer
in my family, and I’d love to see the
disease erased. But it seems that the
major challenge with cancer is that it
keeps changing, which is why investing
in cancer research, innovative technology, and patient care continues
to be so important to me.”

For more than 20 years, Bobby has
devoted a significant amount of his time
and resources to UMGCCC. Through his
relationships in the community, Bobby
has recruited new event partners,
donors, and sponsors who share his
passion for the institution.

“In my company, we are relationship
driven and have a sense of loyalty to
everyone we encounter — from the
client to our CCG team to our
subcontractors,” he explains. “When
I develop a relationship, I stand
behind it and stay with it. This same
mindset applies to my commitment
to the hospital.”

In 2014, Bobby stepped up as
chairman of UMGCCC’s charity golf
tournament with two goals in mind:
to raise money for the cancer center
and to bring awareness to the
remarkable advancements and
amazing work that is being done
every day. Under his leadership, the
golf tournament has raised $1.5
million since 2014.

“The money that we raise from the
golf tournament all goes directly to
the hospital,” Bobby says. “While
philanthropy is extremely important,
it is just as important to raise public
awareness of the cancer center.
Many people do not realize all of
the wonderful discoveries and
amazing breakthroughs in cancer
that have happened here. It is my
ongoing purpose to ensure that
the faculty and staff of the cancer
center have the tools they need to
continue to advance their research
and make new discoveries that will
save more lives.”

To make a gift in support of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, please click here.